Goa gets new music fest

Showcasing local talent including 60 DJs and 40 bands, Goawire will continue over two months and attract about one lakh people.

Put the words ‘festival’ and ‘Goa’ together and Sunburn will undoubtedly come to mind. But Goawire, an upcoming music festival, plans to revisit the term to something that accurately represents the state.

“Goa and parties are synonymous, but there’s more to the state’s music than that. Music runs in the blood of Goans. So we thought that with the amount of homegrown talent available, why not start a festival for the Goans, by the Goans and with the Goans,” says Frank Franklyn, the festival’s co-ordinator. “In other well-known festivals here, over 90 per cent of the DJs, musicians and bands are foreigners. The idea of our festival is to showcase local talent.”

Originally conceived by DJ and reality show contestant Jenny D, Goawire will take place across 40 locations in North and South Goa from April 8 to May 30. While the official schedule isn’t out, the festival will be inaugurated at Elephant Art Café on Anjuna Beach. “Since Goawire will be held in open-air restaurants and cafés, the venue owners have been requested to specialise in Goan dishes. We’re also planning traditional dance performances every weekend,” Franklyn says. Ask Franklyn to name a few of the well-known artistes and DJs performing and he says, “It would be unfair to name a few bands when we have over 60 DJs and 40 bands performing.”

Usually music festivals are held towards the end of the year. So what prompted the organisers to organise Goawire in summer? Franklyn says, “We want to target the Indian youth who have holidays in April and May. We’re looking at about one lakh people attending the festival.”